Gabriel makes it two straight in the beach biathlon

The top three in the beach biathlon, led by winner Cuyler Gabriel, right.

Santa Barbara’s Cuyler Gabriel made it two for two in the Semana Nautica Biathlon, defending his title on Friday at East Beach by beating out Kyle Visin, Scott Mahan and Ed Smith .

Gabriel, a recent graduate of Santa Barbara High, was clocked covering the 4-mile beach run and 1-mile ocean swim in 45 minutes and 17 seconds. Gabriel led from very early on but felt Visin drafting behind him on the run.

“I ran well. I got into a good rhythm,” Gabriel said. “Me and Kyle Visin, we pushed each other.”

The race began with the four-mile run starting in front of the Cabrillo Bath House. The athletes ran on the hard sand near the waterline the length of East Beach and back before the swim leg. A steady onshore wind created a headwind during the run and some chop on the water.

“The last mile or so (of the run) I pushed really hard to try and make him work harder because I knew I would gain an advantage on a swim. And then, just got in the water and tried to feel like myself. It was hard to do that with the conditions,” Gabriel explained.

He opened up a slight lead at the end of the run and extended it to almost three minutes during the swim.

Visin’s time was 48:08, Mahan 49.50 and Smith 51.07.

Danielle Lipski and Heather Roger were the only females in the field, coming in together at just under 1:04.